﻿Origin 
  of 
  Wild 
  Species 
  587 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  worth 
  while 
  to 
  note 
  that 
  as 
  a 
  monstrosity 
  

   this 
  occurrence 
  is 
  extremely 
  rare 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   whole 
  vegetable 
  kingdom, 
  and 
  only 
  very 
  few 
  

   instances 
  have 
  been 
  recorded. 
  

  

  Two 
  cases 
  of 
  sudden 
  mutations 
  have 
  come 
  to 
  

   my 
  knowledge, 
  producing 
  this 
  same 
  anomaly 
  in 
  

   allied 
  species. 
  One 
  has 
  been 
  already 
  alluded 
  to 
  ; 
  

   it 
  pertains 
  to 
  the 
  common 
  evening-primrose 
  or 
  

   Oenothera 
  biennis, 
  and 
  one 
  is 
  a 
  species 
  belong- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  another 
  genus 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  family, 
  the 
  

   great 
  hairy 
  willow-herb 
  or 
  Epilobium 
  kirsutum. 
  

   I 
  propose 
  to 
  designate 
  both 
  new 
  forms 
  by 
  the 
  

   varietal 
  name 
  of 
  cruciata, 
  or 
  cruciatum. 
  

  

  Oenothera 
  biennis 
  cruciata 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  

   native 
  locality 
  of 
  the 
  0. 
  biennis 
  itself. 
  It 
  con- 
  

   sisted 
  of 
  only 
  one 
  plant, 
  showing 
  in 
  all 
  its 
  flow- 
  

   ers 
  the 
  cruciata 
  marks. 
  In 
  all 
  other 
  respects 
  it 
  

   resembled 
  wholly 
  the 
  biennis, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  

   pure 
  green 
  color 
  of 
  its 
  foliage, 
  which 
  at 
  once 
  

   excluded 
  all 
  suspicion 
  of 
  hybrid 
  origin 
  with 
  the 
  

   purple 
  0. 
  cruciata. 
  Moreover 
  in 
  our 
  country 
  

   this 
  last 
  occurs 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  cultivated 
  state 
  in 
  

   botanical 
  gardens. 
  

  

  Intermediates 
  were 
  not 
  seen, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  plant 
  

   bore 
  some 
  pods, 
  it 
  was 
  possible 
  to 
  test 
  its 
  con- 
  

   stancy. 
  I 
  raised 
  about 
  500 
  plants 
  from 
  its 
  seeds, 
  

   out 
  of 
  which 
  more 
  than 
  100 
  flowered 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  

   year. 
  The 
  others 
  were 
  partly 
  kept 
  through 
  the 
  

   winter 
  and 
  flowered 
  next 
  vear. 
  Seeds 
  saved 
  in 
  

  

  